Oli Thompson

	Name	Oli Thompson
	Nickname	N/A
	Association	ZT Fight School
	Weight Class	Heavyweight
	Height	N/A
	Style	Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing
	Birth Date	January 2, 1980
	Fighting Out Of	Hove, England
	Country	England
	Full Fighters Name Pictures	Official Website

Oli Thompson is a British strongman and former holder of the title Britain's Strongest Man, turned Heavyweight mixed martial artist.

Professional Record

Record	9 - 4 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw)
Wins	3 (T)KOs 5 Submissions 1 Decisions
Losses	2 (T)KOs 1 Submissions 1 Decisions

Result	Opponent	Method	Event Title	Date	Round	Time	Notes
Loss	Philip De Fries	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	UFC on FOX 4: Shogun vs. Vera	8/4/2012	2	4:16
Loss	Shawn Jordan	TKO (Punches)	UFC on FX 2: Alves vs. Kampmann	3/3/2012	2	1:07
Win	Mark Potter	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	UCMMA 21: Stand Your Ground	6/25/2011	1	2:55
Win	Ben Smith	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	UCMMA 19: Lights Out	3/26/2011	2	3:45
Win	Nikki Kent	TKO (Punches)	ZT Fight Night: Enter the Octagon	12/3/2010	1	N/A
Win	Tomasz Czerwinski	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	ZTFN: Stand Your Ground	7/31/2010	1	N/A
Win	Ian Hawkings	Decision (Unanimous)	Ultimate Challenge MMA: Feel the Pain	6/20/2010	3	5:00
Loss	Rob Broughton	Decision (Unanimous)	ZT Fight Night: Heavyweights Collide	1/30/2010	3	5:00	ZT Fight Night Heavyweight Tournament Finals; replaced Joe Vedepo who was unable to continue
Loss	Joe Vedepo	TKO (Punches)	ZT Fight Night: Heavyweights Collide	1/30/2010	2	1:24	ZT Fight Night Heavyweight Tournament Semifinals; Vedepo (a natural MW) took fights on a days notice
Win	Steve Day	KO (Punch)	ZT Fight Night: Heavyweights Collide	1/30/2010	1	1:07	ZT Fight Night Heavyweight Tournament Opening Round
Win	Tomasz Kamienczyk	TKO (Punches)	ZTFN: Night of Champions	8/21/2009	1	N/A
Win	Ashley Pollard	Submission (Punches)	ZTFN 16: The Heat is On	6/19/2009	1	2:19
Win	Ashley Pollard	Submission (Arm Triangle Choke)	ZTFN 15: ZT Fight Night 15	4/03/2009	2	N/A

Early Life

Thompson was born January 2, 1980 in East Sussex. He played rugby union at English county level and decided to try weight training. Thus, when he was 19 he joined Physiques gym in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex and within a matter of weeks he had broken the gym record for dead-lifting with a 260 kg lift. This prompted him to start to focus more on a strict routine of weight and strength in order to become a strength athlete.

Strongman Career

Thompson's first competition was the 2001 UK's Strongest Man qualifier. Although he did not qualify, he gained experience and remained focussed on only competing in professional level events. In 2002 he won Kent's Strongest Man, taking first place in 5 out of 6 events. He went on to qualify in 2003 for Britain's Strongest Man ("BSM"), and in 2004 surpassed all expectations when he came third. This earned him the right to compete alongside the top strength athletes in the world at the Moscow Super Series 2004 (known as the 2004 Russia Grand Prix, although in 2004 this was not part of the WSM Super Series and again later in the year at Europe's Strongest Man in Poland.

In 2005 he opted to compete in the IFSA British Championships which was set up in direct rivalry with the BSM after IFSA parted company with the BSM and World's Strongest Man competition organiser TWI. He finished second in that competition to Mark Felix.[2] Like many British strongmen he returned to the TWI British circuit in 2006 and won Britain's Strongest Man that year. He also competed in the 2006 IFSA World Championship where he made the final and came 8th. Disaster struck in February 2007, whilst he was training for the Mohegan Sun Super Series. He was deadlifting and he tore his biceps. Reportedly, he said that it didn’t hurt. He went on to say "No, there are no nerves in there, it didn’t hurt. I just heard it snap and I was just aware of it. You can feel it come up, but there’s no pain." Although the biceps was repaired Thompson has reported that it feels different and that "it’s just not quite as smooth." Although he has said that he doesn't think it will ever be the same, he has also said that: "When I get to a competition, I won’t be holding back because of my arm. I’ve already won Britain’s Strongest Man - you don’t want to go down - you’ve got to try and win Britain’s Strongest Man again or it’s pointless. So I’ve got to win it really. That’ll be how I judge where I go from there - if I win it or not. Second place isn’t something I’ll be chuffed with." Thompson trained intensively with training partner Scott Reid, the 2007 Britain’s Strongest Man in the 105 kg weight class. He went on to qualify for the finals of Britain's Strongest Man in 2008 and won his heat in the process. However, the injury was too proximate for him to fully challenge for the title in a field that was widely reported to have been one of the strongest ever.

Thompson had been closely associated with IFSA in the past but states that he always did what he wanted to do. Prior to the BSM 2008 he stated that "If I don’t qualify for Britain’s Strongest Man I may well end up doing the IFSA World Championships."

As well as Thompson's successful British finals, he also won the South England Strongest Man title three times (2003, 2004 and 2006) and Sussex Strongest Man on three consecutive occasions from 2003 to 2005. He has also competed in a number of Grand Prix events in Dubai, Latvia, Hungary.

His strongman career came to an end due to injury (he tore his bicep clear off the bone whilst attempting a 400kg deadlift), but it did not end his competitive nature, as he got involved in mixed martial arts.

Mixed Martial Arts Career

With his strongman career over, Thompson had a friend who was a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt, encouraging him to attend his grappling classes in Eastbourne. Already a big fan of the UFC, Thompson accepted the offer and began training at the Brazilian Top Team affiliated school.

“I always thought MMA was exciting, and everything I felt I could do was involved in it so I made a conscious decision with my family and friends to pursue it. I figured I’m 28 years old and it’s now or never, and I wanted to push on and show the world what I can do,” said Thompson.

He finally settled on training full time at ZT Fight School in Hove, England.

After winning his first two professional bouts, against the same individual, Thompson participated in a one night ZT Fight Night Heavyweight Tournament on January 30, 2010. In the opening round he faced off against Steve Day, whom he defeated by KO (Punch) early in the first round. In his semifinal bout, Thompson faced off against natural Middleweight Joe Vedepo, who took on the tournament on a days notice, on top of jumping up two weight classes. Vedepo went on to defeat Thompson by TKO (Punches) in the second round.

Luckily for Thompson, Vedepo injured his hand during their bout, forcing him to pull out of the finals. Thompson went on to replaced Vedepo, facing off against Rob Broughton in the tournament's final bout. Broughton went on to win the tournament by defeating Thompson by Decision (Unanimous), handing Thompson his second loss of the night and of his career.

Controversy

Britain's strongest man was spared jail after he was involved in a street brawl. Thompson, is said to have kicked a man in the shoulder as he lay defenceless on the ground. After watching CCTV footage of the incident a judge accepted the man had provoked the situation. The man had previously been by friends as he repeatedly tried to confront Thompson group in. At the time Thompson, of Park Road, Bexhill, was a doorman at the town's V-bar and also had a job working with teenagers at a childrens' home. He resigned from both jobs after he was arrested and is now concentrating on his career in strongman and MMA competitions. Olivia Magennis, prosecuting, told Hove Crown Court the man broke free of friends trying to restrain him. She said he crossed Seaside during the 2am confrontation and tried to punch Thompson. Miss Magennis added: Thompson "retaliated when Mr Chan was on the ground. He was …. kicked on the shoulder by Thompson." Mr Chan suffered minor injuries including bruises to his head, eye and shoulder. Thompson initially denied the charge, claiming he was defending himself and others in the group. But he pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial in August. He was ordered to do 180 hours unpaid community work and must pay £300 in costs when he was sentenced. Ian Potter, defending Thompson, said: "He first of all rounded up some of the women in the group and took them to a car to get them out of the way. He then stood with his arms crossed looking at what was going on and had no involvement to begin with. "He then tried to pull Mr Chan away from the situation and tried to help as one might expect from his training as a doorman. "Mr Chan then punched him on the chin before he was pulled to the floor by someone else. "This is where Thompson had his momentary lapse but says he was acting in self-defence of himself and others. "He now accepts that the one kick to the shoulder went beyond self-defence because Mr Chan was on the floor. Judge Guy Anthony told them: "Watching the video of what happened makes it clear this was yet another incident of violence fuelled by alcohol. "It is difficult to see how you, Thompson, could claim self-defence when you put the boot in to a man who was lying defenceless on the ground." Thompson said as he left court: "I was trying to break up the incident but he kept coming back to us. "In the end I retaliated and I accept I overreacted as I was trying to defend us from him. It is not in my nature to get involved in things like this."

Championships and Accomplishments

Strongman

• World Championship (IFSA)
  • 8th in World Championship (IFSA) 2006
• Europe's Strongest Man
  • Qualified in 2004 Europe's Strongest Man
• Britain's Strongest Man
  • 3rd in Britain's Strongest Man 2004
  • 1st in Britain's Strongest Man 2006
• IFSA British Championships
  • 2nd in IFSA British Championships 2005
• FSA England's Strongest Man
  • 3rd in IFSA England's Strongest Man 2005